Miami Dade College North Campus

Aquatic and Fitness Center

Arms

Preacher Curls

Muscle Group: Brachialis & Biceps

Type of exercise: The preacher curl is an isolation, strength building, resistance weight training exercise which is primarily used to work out both brachialis and biceps. The preacher curl involves using a preacher bench, which allows the trainer to sit on a padded seat and perform curls by lifting a barbell off a rack positioned in front of him. The targeted muscle is the brachialis, and because the arms are placed at an angle when engaged in a preacher curl, the exercise works the long head of the biceps brachii muscles more than the short head.

Weight: Weight is distributed in 15 lbs increments

Benefits: This exercise completely isolates the biceps brachii and focuses the intensity across the whole of the muscle. It also recruits the brachialis. This makes it a great overall biceps exercise, and a staple of any lifting program. Because the curl bench stabilizes your upper arm, and allows some leverage, you may find that you are able to curl heavier weights in a preacher curl. Challenging yourself is fine, so long as you add weight in reasonable increments, rather than large jumps.